Ἠὼς μὲν κροκόπεπλος ἐκίδνατο πᾶσαν ἐπ' αῖαν,
Ζεὺς δὲ, θεῶν ἀγορὴν ποιήσατο τερπικέραυνος
ἀκροτάτῃ κορυφῇ πολυδειράδος Οὐλύμποιο:
αὐτὸς δέ σφ' ἀγόρευε θεοὶ δ' ὑπὸ πάντες άκουον:
κέκλυτέ μευ πάντές τε θεοὶ. πᾶσαί τε θέαιναι:
μήτέ τις οὖν θήλεια θεὸς τό γε, μὴ τε τίς ἄρσην
πειράτω διακέρσαι ἐμὸν ἔπος, ἀλλ'' ἅμα πάντες
αἰνεῖτ', ὄφρα τάχιστα τελευτήσω τάδε ἔργα:
ὃν δ' ἂν ἐγὼν, ἀπάνευθε θεῶν ἐθέλοντα νοήσω
ἐλθόντ', ἢ Τρώεσσιν ἀρηγέμεν. ἢ Δαναοῖσι.
πληγεὶς, οὐ κατα κόσμον ἐλεύσεται Οὔλυμπον δὲ.
ἤ μιν ἑλὼν ῥίψω ἐς Τάρταρον ἠερόεντα:
τῆλε μάλ', ᾗχι βάθιστον ὑπὸ χθονός ἐστι βέρεθρον:
ἔνθα σιδήρειαί τε πύλαι. καὶ χάλκεος οὐδός,
τόσσον ἔνερθ' Ἀΐδεω, ὅσον οὐρανὸς ἔστ' ἀπὸ γαίης:
γνώσετ' ἔπειθ', ὅσον εἰμὶ θεῶν κάρτιστος ἁπάντων:
εἰ δ' άγε πειρήσασθε θεοὶ ἵ̈να εἴδετε πάντες
σειρὴν χρυσείην ἐξ οὐρανόθεν κρεμάσαντες:
πάντες δ' ἐξάπτεσθε θεοὶ πᾶσαί τε θέαιναι:
ἀλλ' οὐκ ὰν ἐρύσαιτ' ἐξ οὐρανόθεν πεδίον δὲ
Ζῆν' ὕπατον μήστωρ', οὐδ' εἰ μάλα πολλὰ κάμοιτε:
ἀλλ' ὅτε δὴ καὶ ἐγὼ πρόφρων ἐθέλοιμι ἐρύσσαι.
αὐτῇ κεν γαίῃ ἐρύσαιμ' αὐτῇ τε θαλάσσῃ:
σειρὴν μέν κεν ἔπειτα περὶ ῥίον Οὐλύμποιο
δησαίμην, τὰ δέ κ' αῦτε μετήορα πάντα γένοιτο:
Now Dawn the saffron-robed was spreading over the face of all the earth, and Zeus that hurleth the thunderbolt made a gathering of the gods upon the topmost peak of many-ridged Olympus, and himself addressed their gathering; and all the gods gave ear: "Hearken unto me, all ye gods and goddesses, that I may speak what the heart in my breast biddeth me. Let not any goddess nor yet any god essay this thing, to thwart my word, but do ye all alike assent thereto, that with all speed I may bring these deeds to pass. Whomsoever I shall mark minded apart from the gods to go and bear aid either to Trojans or Danaans, smitten in no seemly wise shall he come back to Olympus, or I shall take and hurl him into murky Tartarus, far, far away, where is the deepest gulf beneath the earth, the gates whereof are of iron and the threshold of bronze, as far beneath Hades as heaven is above earth: then shall ye know how far the mightiest am I of all gods. Nay, come, make trial, ye gods, that ye all may know. Make ye fast from heaven a chain of gold, and lay ye hold thereof, all ye gods and all goddesses; yet could ye not drag to earth from out of heaven Zeus the counsellor most high, not though ye laboured sore. But whenso I were minded to draw of a ready heart, then with earth itself should I draw you and with sea withal; and the rope should I thereafter bind about a peak of Olympus and all those things should hang in space. By so much am I above gods and above men."
